Andrew Williams, Director of Client Solutions, Transportation
With First Advantage and Sterling now together as one, we’re excited to launch our blog series designed specifically for the transportation industry — or any organization managing drivers and vehicles: Optimizing Driver Hiring and Compliance Series.
Our transportation experts will uncover the unique issues that your fleets are facing and provide thoughts and practical solutions to help streamline your program and keep your safest drivers on the road.
In this blog, we’re tackling a key challenge that many HR, TA, and Safety teams face: hiring and maintaining compliance for drivers and regulated populations while improving efficiency and effectiveness.
The Challenge: Streamlining a Complex Process
Hiring teams want their candidates to transition smoothly from one onboarding step to the next. However, there are many elements during the onboarding process preventing hiring teams from achieving this, including:
- Driver Fallout
- Duplicate Data Entry by New Drivers
- Manual File Creation by Users
- Siloed Data Sources Impacting Driver Qualification (DQ)
- Tracking Compliance Across Multiple Systems (e.g., Monitoring, DQ)
- Fragmented Ownership Across Different Stakeholders
- Limited Insight into Non-Regulated Driver Compliance
- Excessive Requests for Information (e.g., Safety Performance History Requests)
- Challenges in Tracking Employment Status Changes, Including:
- Leave of Absence
- Role or Work Location Changes
- Terminations
The Solution: A Technology-Driven Approach
Organizations managing a driver workforce should implement a technology-based approach to alleviate static processes and roadblocks. While this may seem straightforward, implementing this approach requires careful consideration.
You can make this process go more smoothly by accounting for these important factors upfront:
- Updating and Clarifying Compliance Policies – Ensure policies are current and clearly defined.
- Engaging Key Stakeholders – Map out all individuals involved in the driver compliance process and involve them in planning.
- Assessing Your Current Program – Identify strengths, weaknesses, and gaps.
- Defining Your Ideal State – Establish a clear vision of your desired outcome.
By addressing these foundational elements, organizations can enhance efficiency while closing compliance gaps that have historically put safety at risk. This proactive approach fosters a safer workplace while reducing administrative burdens.
Implementing an Integrated System
Partnering with a provider that can consolidate and automate key processes is essential. Consider these critical integrations:
- Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Integration – Candidate information from the ATS should seamlessly transfer to the background check provider.
- Automated Driver Qualification (DQ) Processing – Background check completion should trigger automatic entry into the DQ system.
- HRIS-Driven Compliance Updates – Leave of absence, job changes, and terminations should automatically update driver qualification records.
- Real-Time Driver Eligibility Updates – DQ systems should integrate with route management systems to ensure only eligible drivers are assigned.
- Risk Level Assessment from Multiple Data Streams – MVR monitoring, CSA scores, telematics, and training systems should feed into a central dashboard to provide a comprehensive risk profile.
- Unified Compliance Tracking for All Drivers – Maintain up-to-date records for both regulated and non-regulated drivers, ensuring compliance with insurance and licensing requirements.
- Consolidation of Safety History Data – Leverage existing safety data (e.g., Safety Performance History Requests, Drug & Alcohol History) to streamline request fulfillment processes.
The Bottom Line
By leveraging these strategies, organizations can onboard qualified drivers more efficiently, maintain compliance with ease, and significantly reduce administrative overhead. Automating compliance processes allows teams to focus on fostering a culture of safety while ensuring operational efficiency.
To learn more about our transportation solutions, click here.
